US discovers UK coronavirus variant in patient with no travel history

A 20-something man from Colorado is the first American known to be infected with a new variant of coronavirus that emerged this fall in the UK, raising concern that a more transmissible strain could spread widely across the country.

 

The Colorado State Laboratory confirmed the patient had the mutated form of the virus, known as B.1.1.7, and informed the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Colorado Governor Jared Polis said in a statement Tuesday.

 

Meanwhile, a 45-year-old nurse in California tested positive for Covid more than a week after receiving Pfizer Inc's coronavirus vaccine, an ABC News affiliate reported.

 

Matthew W., a nurse at two different local hospitals, said in a Facebook post on December 18 that he had received the Pfizer vaccine, telling the ABC News affiliate that his arm was sore for a day but that he had suffered no other side-effects. Six days later on Christmas Eve, he became sick after working a shift in the Covid unit, the report added.